Biblical Theology for Preaching and Living
Evening Expositions
Dr Barry Webb
Singapore, 2012
03: Thinking Wisely about Prosperity
Introduction
Welcome to this second night. Let me begin by reminding you of what we’ve
done so far in this series of talks. The general theme we’re exploring is
wisdom, and in particular biblical wisdom - the kind of wisdom that is taught in
the Bible. In the first talk I showed you the overall shape of the Bible, and
identified its central theme as the kingdom of God. We saw that the kingdom
of God has two senses in Scripture: a universal sense grounded in creation,
and a particular sense grounded in redemption. I used the following diagram
to show you how this theme is developed as the Bible unfolds from Genesis
through to Jesus and beyond.
[POWERPOINT]
I then explored wisdom as a biblical theme, with special attention to Genesis
1-3 and the wisdom literature associated with King Solomon. In the second
talk I applied this to the important task of thinking wisely about work. I showed
that the there are basically two kinds of work in the Bible: ordinary work, and
gospel work. I showed that while gospel work is uniquely Christian, and all
Christians have an obligation to be involved in it in some way, this does not
devalue ordinary work. Ordinary work has a stand-alone value based on
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creation, and is God’s general will for us all as human beings. Furthermore,
gospel work depends on ordinary work to sustain it.
In this third talk I want to move on from there to focus on the related issue of
prosperity. It’s something we all value and desire. But how are we to think
wisely about it? What is the Bible’s wisdom on this important topic? This time I
will spend much more time thinking about Jesus’ teaching, because he has a
lot to say about this topic.
But first we need to be clear what we mean by prosperity.
1.
What is prosperity?
It can be helpful to have a definition at the beginning of a discussion like this,
as long as we don’t prejudge the issue by doing so. Our fundamental task is
to see what the Bible has to say about prosperity, not to impose our own
definition of it on the Bible. However, a broad definition will be helpful at this
point, if only to alert us to the breadth of the subject.
In our western, free-market, capitalist environment, prosperity automatically
brings to mind money and the things money can buy. But there are dangers in
this. First, because money, as such, arrived relatively late in biblical history,
and the economic systems to which the people of the Old and New
Testaments belonged were not market driven in the modern sense. Wealth
was related to social position, and was based more on land than on money.
The economies of the ancient world were agriculturally based, trade took the
form of barter, and most people had only a very limited capacity to
accumulate money. So we must not think of prosperity solely in monetary
terms. Second, we all recognise, even today, that prosperity entails more than
simply the acquisition of money and the things money can buy. In the natural
world, a plant can prosper simply by growing. In the human world a woman
can prosper by producing healthy children, and a charity can prosper through
donations and the work of a growing team of volunteers, without ever making
a financial profit. It prospers by simply being effective. So we need a broad
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definition of prosperity if we are to be open to all that the Bible may have to
say about it. For the purposes of this talk, I will define prospering as “thriving,
undergoing healthy growth”, and prosperity as being in such a state.
2.
Popular preaching about prosperity
Another necessary preliminary to our discussion is the rather obvious point
that so-called prosperity preaching has become very popular and widespread
in recent years, not just in the prosperous west, but in the developing world as
well. In part this is a response to the intense desire for prosperity among rich
and poor alike. The desire for prosperity is universal and insatiable: we never
have enough. In this context a message that promises prosperity is very
attractive. For want of something better, I'll refer to this by the common
designation, the prosperity gospel.
It’s main elements are as follows:
i.
Prosperity, including financial and material prosperity, is God’s will for
human beings, and especially for his children.
ii.
Prosperity is necessary, not just for our personal well-being, but for the
advance of the kingdom of God. Christian ministry depends on wealthy
people to support it.
iii.
The Bible is full of promises of prosperity for God's people.
iv.
The promises of God should be believed and acted upon. Therefore …
v.
Prosperity is available to those who ask God for it in faith.
vi.
God rewards those who give generously, so giving to the work of God
is a sure-fire investment. The way to maximize prosperity is by giving
generously to God’s work.
This kind of thinking is commonly the basis of appeals for financial support by
high-profile televangelists, and books that advocate it have achieved
phenomenal sales success. Bruce Wilkinson’s The Prayer of Jabez, which
was released in 2000, sold nine million copies in the first two years, and by
2010 had sold 17 million copies. While other forms of prosperity are
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sometimes acknowledged in this preaching, the focus on money and what
money can buy is explicit, and quite unabashed. A good example from my
own country is Brian Houston’s book, published in 1999, You Need More
Money: Discovering God’s Amazing Financial Plan for Your Life.1 Brian is the
head pastor of one of the largest and most successful churches in Sydney.
I will offer some reflections on this kind of teaching at the end of this talk, in
light of the ground we have covered. Suffice it to say at this point that we need
a balanced view of prosperity, based on what the Bible as a whole says about
it, and biblical theology is the key to getting the kind of big picture we need.
With all this in mind, let us begin again where the Bible does, with creation.
3.
Prosperity and creation (Genesis 1)
The first chapter of the Bible presents us with a picture of enormous
prosperity. The overall movement of Genesis 1 is from formlessness,
emptiness, and darkness (v. 2), to order, light, beauty, and abundance in v.
31. Everything is thriving here: the sea and land are producing aquatic and
land creatures large and small; birds are flying in the heavens; the sun and
moon are giving light and warmth, and every sphere is being filled to
overflowing. And all this is happening at the command of God: “Let there be
light”, “Let the land produce vegetation”; “Let the water teem with living
creatures,” and so on. And God pronounces it all “very good.” In other words,
prosperity is the natural condition of the created world, and reflects God’s
good intentions for it.
The specific dimensions of human prosperity are given in the command to the
human pair in v. 28: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and
subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every
living creature that moves on the ground.” The prosperity God wills for them
involves numerical increase, and the extension of their good influence over
1
Castle Hill: Maximised Leadership.
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the world through work: ruling it as God’s representatives, so that it, too, will
continue to thrive in the way God intends. So the prosperity of human beings
is not at the expense of their environment, but the necessary condition of it.
Human beings and the world thrive together. That’s God’s declared intention.
That is what prosperity was like in the kingdom of God as it existed at
creation, and the prosperity we could have continued to enjoy if we had not
rebelled against God.
4.
Prosperity and the fall (Gen 3)
Unfortunately the fall of Genesis 3 leads to another kind of prosperity,
prosperity that is hard won. Things other than the good and beautiful now
begin to thrive. God increases Eve’s pain in childbearing (v. 16). This can
hardly mean that pain was already part of God’s good creation, but that from
the fall onwards it would grow from nothing to severe. And the earth’s
fruitfulness will also involve pain of sorts, for it will now produce thorns and
thistles, turning the task of working it into painful toil (v. 17). Prosperity is still
possible, but is now something that most be laboured for, and cannot be
achieved at all without suffering.
And as we saw in the last talk, the following chapters show the thriving,
among other things, of relational breakdown, murder, violence, and human
arrogance. Good and evil now thrive side by side, and it is not always easy to
distinguish between them. Prosperity that issues from human pride, as in the
tower of Babel, can be very impressive, and only divine intervention can
expose it for the empty thing it is. In such a world human beings need
instruction from God to prosper in ways that are good and avoid ways that are
destructive. This need is answered in the fresh initiative of God that begins in
Genesis 12, and leads, via the Law given through Moses, to the wisdom
embodied in the teaching of Solomon.
For a number of reasons it makes good sense to go directly to the wisdom of
Solomon at this point. First, because, as we saw last night, Solomon’s wisdom
teaching presupposes the Law and is in effect the fine print of the it. So we
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don't neglect the Law of Moses by going to the wisdom of Solomon. Second,
because the wisdom literature is precisely the type of biblical literature that is
primarily concerned with everyday life issues like work and prosperity. And
third, because Solomon’s instruction comes at the highpoint of the revelation
of the kingdom of God in Israel’s history. It is instruction for how to live in
response to the goodness of God in creation and redemption. In short, how to
live wisely in the fear of the LORD, who is creator and law-giver.
5.
Prosperity in Proverbs
The Proverbs of Solomon come from a time of abundance. Solomon’s reign
was, among other things, a time of great prosperity, Israel’s golden age. It
was the climax of the revelation of the kingdom of God in Israel’s history. In
this sense there is a parallel between the situation reflected in Proverbs and
what we saw in Genesis 1. God’s work in redemption from Moses to Solomon
produces abundance, as his work in creation did in the six days of creation.
Furthermore, the prosperity of Proverbs consists largely of material
abundance: wealth, riches, bumper crops, barns overflowing, vats brimming
with new wine, and a surplus of good things to give away (3:9-10, 16; 28:27).
So Proverbs appears to support one of the key elements of the prosperity
gospel: material prosperity is God’s will for his children. The book of Proverbs
is optimistic: life in the kingdom of God is, and should be, a prosperous life.
This needs to be qualified, however, by some other things about Solomon’s
situation and teaching.
First, Solomon did not become wealthy by desiring it, or even asking God for
it. In fact the exact opposite is the case, as shown by God’s response to his
prayer for wisdom in 1 Kings 3:10-13:
1Kings 3:10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
1Kings 3:11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for
long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your
enemies but for discernment in administering justice,
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1Kings 3:12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and
discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor
will there ever be.
1Kings 3:13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both
riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among
kings.
His material prosperity did not come by asking for it, or striving for it, but as a
by-product of something else. What he desired was wisdom so that he could
serve God and his people well as their king. His wealth was a pure gift, given
because God was pleased that he did not desire it or ask for it!
Second, in Proverbs God gives wealth only in the context of godly living. This
is everywhere in Proverbs, with 3:5-9 perhaps the best known, classic
statement about it:
Prov. 3:5 ¶
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
Prov. 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Prov. 3:7 ¶
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
Prov. 3:8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
Prov. 3:9 ¶
Honor the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
Prov. 3:10
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Notice how “Fear the LORD” is central to this passage, and rightly so, for it is
the beginning of wisdom according to 1:7, and the prerequisite for God’s
blessing, including God-given prosperity. There is huge emphasis on this
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here, with “Fear the LORD” (v. 7) being framed by “Trust in the LORD” in v. 5
and “Honour the LORD” in v. 9. These describe a life in which God is central,
and honouring him is the fundamental aim. This is the essence of godly living,
and it is people who live this way that God normally blesses with prosperity.
The basic point, though, is that there are simply no grounds in Proverbs for
thinking that God will give large material blessings to anyone who asks.
Third, notice that while prosperity is described in this passage mainly in terms
of wealth, other dimensions are also recognised. See verse 8: “This will bring
health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.” Thriving in this sense is
also a blessing from God, and can happen in a situation where people have
very modest means.
Finally, while God generally blesses godly people with prosperity, Proverbs
recognises that they may also suffer, at least in the short term. There are
situations where it is the wicked who prosper, and godly people may have to
endure this for some time. Proverbs 29:16, “When the wicked thrive, so does
sin, but the righteous will see their downfall.” The godly will eventually be
rewarded by God, but may have to endure much before their vindication
comes. In other words, even though godliness is a prerequisite for God-given
prosperity, there is no automatic connection between the two. Godliness does
not guarantee prosperity, at least in the short-term. “We do not have anything
even remotely like a get-rich-quick scheme in Proverbs.”2
6.
Prosperity in Ecclesiastes
As we saw in the previous talk, Ecclesiastes comes from a different time and
economic situation than the book of Proverbs. The prosperity of Solomon’s
reign is now long past. Wealth is still present, but is concentrated in the hands
of a powerful elite. The reality for most people is poverty, caused by injustice.
The situation referred to in Proverbs 29:16 as exceptional (“When the wicked
2
Witherington, Jesus and Money, p. 37.
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thrive, so does sin”), has now become the norm. Optimism has evaporated,
and a stark realism has taken its place. See Ecclesiastes 5:8-14:
Eccl. 5:8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights
denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a
higher one, and over them both are others higher still.
Eccl. 5:9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits
from the fields.
Eccl. 5:10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
Eccl. 5:11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to
the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?
Eccl. 5:12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep.
Eccl. 5:13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
Eccl. 5:14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when he has a son
there is nothing left for him.
Notice the following points from this passage.
First, wealth is not always a sign of God’s blessing. Here it is gained mainly by
people who are driven by a desire for it. They “love money” (v. 10), and get it
by whatever means they can, including oppression of the poor.
Second, wealth gained in this way does not satisfy. Those who love money
never have enough; they are never satisfied with their income (v. 10). The
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only benefit it gives its owner is the satisfaction of feasting his eyes on it, but
such benefit is hollow, and the satisfaction is illusory (v. 11).
Third, the love of money generates huge anxiety. “The abundance of the rich
man permits him no sleep”, because he in in constant fear of losing it. “It may
be lost through some misfortune” (v. 14), and his sense of security is so
bound up with it that this possibility will not let him rest. Even if one of his aims
was to be able to leave an inheritance for his son, this may not come to
anything either (v. 14), and the anxiety of that, too, haunts him.
Notice carefully, though, the centrality of “love” in this passage; not love of
people (the rich in this passage care nothing for others, especially the poor),
but love of wealth: “Whoever loves money” (v. 10). This is the root cause of all
the other ills listed here. The greedy man's drivenness, his unjust treatment of
others, his lack of satisfaction, his anxiety, and his sleeplessness. It is not
money, and the things money can buy, that is wrong in this passage, but the
love of them. When this, rather than a desire to honour the LORD, become
central to a person’s life, it spawns a host of other evils. And those who
acquire wealth in this way do so “to their harm” (v. 13), and the harm of those
their lifestyle affects.
The only person in this passage whose condition is good is paradoxically, the
labourer, who is at the very bottom of the prosperity pyramid. “The sleep of
the labourer is sweet, whether he eats little or much” (v. 12). Well being, in
that sense, can be completely independent of prosperity; all that is needed for
sweet sleep (which means freedom from anxiety) is hard work, and a modest
amount to eat.
Ecclesiastes and Proverbs are in fundamental agreement here. Proverbs
agrees that ill-gotten gain is wrong, and that the poor may be better off than
the rich: “Better a little with righteousness, than much gain with injustice”
(Prov 16:8; cf. 15:16). And Ecclesiastes recognizes that wealth and
possessions can be a blessing from God, and that when they are they should
be enjoyed as such (5:19). It’s just a difference in emphasis.
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But Ecclesiastes does push into more radical territory in places. We have
already seen that the first two chapters show us that even wealth gained by
wisdom and hard work is ultimately unsatisfying, or “vain” to use the
Teacher’s own term. And even when wealth and possessions are a direct
blessing from God, he “does not grant the ability to enjoy them, and a stranger
enjoys them instead” (6:2). This comes directly after 5:19, which commends
the enjoyment of such things as God’s gifts. It is an example of the not
uncommon use of paradox in wisdom teaching. Both statements are true, but
are situation-specific. Where God grants the capacity to enjoy wealth, it
should be received gratefully. But there is no guarantee of this; God also lets
the heard-earned wealth of one person be enjoyed by another who did not
work for it. God gives, but he also takes away.
7.
Job: prosperity and godliness
No part of the Bible illustrates this more powerfully than the book of Job, the
third great wisdom book of the Old Testament. Job is presented at the outset
as a model wise man: he fears God and shuns evil (1:1). Furthermore, he is
very prosperous (1:2-3), and as the following dialogue between God and
Satan shows, his prosperity is God-given; there is no dispute between them
on this point (1:10). But then his wealth is suddenly taken from him and given
to strangers, including his oxen, donkeys, and camels, the basis of his
agricultural and trading prosperity (1:13-17). And again, though Satan is
instrumental, God is mainly responsible, as Job himself declares in 2:21: The
LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.” There is a reason, but it is
hidden from him, and remains so, despite all the suffering such loss brings
him. After severe testing, to be sure, he is rewarded with renewed wealth
(42:12-17). Nevertheless, the reason for God’s giving and taking away remain
a mystery to him. At the very best, wealth, and especially the ability to enjoy it,
is an unpredictable blessing. What matters is godliness.
8.
Jesus and prosperity
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As we saw for work, we must expect both continuity and change as we move
from the Old to New Testaments. The kingdom of God in the universal sense
still exists; God is still the creator of all and ruler of all. Prosperity in the sense
of conditions that enable human beings to thrive are still his gifts, and people
everywhere are still accountable to him for how they use for misuse his gifts.
As Paul puts it in his famous speech in Athens, “The God who made the world
and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth” (Acts 17:24). James
reminds us that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from
the Father of the heavenly lights” (Jas 1:17), and Jesus reminds us that God
“causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt 5:45). So prosperity in the general sense
is a blessing from God, and God's will for everyone.
Furthermore, prosperity in the more particular sense of wealth, is a natural
and proper reward for hard work: “The hardworking farmer should be the first
to receive a share of the crops” (2 Tim 2:6). But the hard-working do not
always get their just deserts, and wealth can easily be lost through the
vagaries of the weather, or through mishap of various kinds. Here too, it is an
unpredictable blessing. When it comes, it is to be enjoyed as a good gift of
God, but never be the primary focus of one’s life. Paul gets the balance right
when he tells Timothy, “Command those who are rich in this present world not
to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put
their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (
1 Tim 6:17). Much more could be said, but this is sufficient to make the basic
continuity with the Old Testament clear.
But there are also some very significant differences when we move from the
Old Testament to the New. The first has to do with the new revelation of the
kingdom of God, in its particular sense, that comes with Jesus, and the new
form of work associated with it. We touched on this in the last talk, and will
return to it below.
The second has to do with the particular historical and economic situation in
that forms the background to Jesus’ ministry. By the time Jesus begins his
ministry we have entered the Roman period, and with that a world in which
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money or the lack of it is a much more significant factor in issues of wealth
and poverty. Here we enter the world of the Roman denarius (made from
silver), the Tyrian half-shekel (also silver), and the copper lepta (better known
as the widow’s mite). We also enter the world of large estates, day labourers,
and heavy taxation. The Roman rulers and their clients (the Herods), had no
scruple about commandeering land for their estates, depriving small farmers
of their livelihood and reducing them to the status of wage earners, day
labourers, or (as a last resort) beggars. But taxes, both civil and religious, had
to be paid in coin or risk further seizure of property, which meant that money
(and with it, access to trade) became concentrated in the hands of an elite,
with grinding poverty the lot of the bulk of the population. It’s no accident that
estate managers, labourers, tax collectors, and servants or slaves figure
prominently in the Gospels (Luke 12:42; 16:1-8; Mark 13:34-35).3 Nor should
it surprise us that the New Testament teaching on wealth has a closer affinity
with the rather negative and cautious tone of Ecclesiastes than the optimistic,
positive tone of Proverbs. A striking evidence of this is the fact that, in the
New Testament, positive language about riches and the rich is almost entirely
metaphorical, referring to something other and better than material wealth.
More of this, too, in a moment.
But with this background we turn at last to the life and teaching of Jesus
himself, the one greater than Solomon, in whom the wisdom of God is fully
revealed. We will have much more to say about Jesus in the final talk of this
series, so we will not try to be exhaustive here, but focus on just some key
passages from his teaching.
First, at the beginning of his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared that
in the new order of things he was bringing in, the “poor” had a particularly
honoured and blessed place. In Matthew’s version of the beatitudes it is “the
poor in spirit” (those who are deeply aware of their need of God), but in Luke’s
version it is simply “the poor” (Matt 5:3; Luke 6:20). And at the outset of his
public ministry, in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus declared that he has
3
Cf. Witherington Jesus and Money, p. 47.
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been sent to proclaim “good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). He reinforced this
idea by teaching that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Luke 6:25), and by telling the
rich young ruler, who wanted to know how to get eternal life, to sell what he
had and give to the poor (Luke 18:22). He put the issue even more starkly in
Luke 16:13: “You cannot serve God and money.” So for Jesus there are great
dangers in wealth, and the greatest danger is that the love of it can keep you
out of God’s kingdom.
Second, however, it is clear that Jesus did not see wealth itself as evil. He did
not tell the rich young ruler to simply rid himself of wealth, but to give it to the
poor - in other words, to share it. This is developed at much greater length in
his famous parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich
man is not condemned because of his wealth, but because there was a
beggar at his gate, and he moved not a finger to help him. And even in hell,
the rich man can think of Lazarus only as a potential servant who should be
sent on errands to meet his own need. He has no sense of his responsibility
to serve the poor. The point is that there is a stewardship involved in wealth,
and the failure to discharge it is a great evil. We will say more this later.
Third, Jesus contrasted material wealth with true riches. This is the point of
his famous parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21. Jesus’ characterization of
the rich man as a “fool” shows that he is speaking as a wisdom teacher here,
and his theme is the folly of mistaking material wealth for true riches. The folly
of the rich man is not that he is rich, nor that his riches are ill-gotten. He has
worked hard and been blessed by God: his ground has produced a good crop
(v. 16). His folly is that his vision is truncated. He cannot see beyond his
material wealth to God, or his final accountability to God. So he goes on
acquiring riches, which has become his only concern, and gives no thought to
his eternal soul. “So is everyone,” Jesus says, “who stores up things for
himself, but is not rich toward God” (v. 21). The lesson is clear: true riches lie
in a right relationship with God and readiness for the day of judgment, not on
material wealth, which will be of no value of all when the day of final
accounting comes.
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Jesus himself was born into relative poverty, but he was by no means the
poorest of the poor. He was not a peasant, or landless labourer, or beggar.
He was a tradesman (a carpenter), and was relatively well educated, as
shown by his ability to publically read the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue at
Nazareth. It’s clear, though, that he became poor in the course of his ministry,
so much so that he could say at one point that he had nowhere to lay his head
(Matt 8:20). For him, the kingdom of God was the pearl of great price, and
doing his Father’s will was something for which he was willing to sacrifice
everything. In other words, he practised what he preached, and those of us
who claim to be his followers must honestly face the question of whether we
are willing to do the same. Just how much like Jesus are we - especially in our
lifestyle and attitude to money? Much more could be said, but in the time
remaining I want to consider how the theme of prosperity reaches its climax at
the end of the Bible, in the book of Revelation.
9.
Poverty and Prosperity in the Book of Revelation
The book of Revelation is by a man who can speak of poverty and wealth with
great integrity. At the time of writing the apostle John was in exile on the Isle
of Patmos “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Like his
master, John literally gave up everything for God, and Christ is at the very
heart of his mighty vision of the kingdom of God on earth and in heaven. In
chapters 1-3 he shows us, in the letters to the seven churches, kingdom of
God living in this world, and in chapters 4-21 the final destiny of those who
have chosen to live this way, and those who haven’t.
In the church at Smyrna he shows us people who are poor, but really rich
(2:9), and in Laodicea those who rich, but really poor. And the most alarming
thing about the Laodiceans is that their wealth has blinded them to their true
condition: They say, "We are rich; we have acquired wealth, and have need of
nothing", do not know that they are "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked",
and that Jesus is no longer among them, but outside knocking on their door
(3:17-20). It is a powerful message about the our capacity for self-deception,
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and how affluence can deaden us to the voice of God, without our even
knowing it. The remedy Jesus offers is striking: “buy from me gold refined in
the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear … and salve to
put on your eyes so you can see” (v. 18). It is a clear example of language
about riches being metaphorical. The true riches that the Laodiceans can get
only from Jesus are genuine Christian character, produced by suffering, moral
integrity, and true spiritual insight, and the only currency that can secure them
is repentance (v. 19). This is the only way to the true riches that the church in
Smyrna already has.
Then chapters 4-21 show us the final outcome of the two lifestyles. The lust
for wealth is characteristic of the world, which stands under God’s judgment
and will be overthrown on the last day. What will endure is the new
Jerusalem, the city of God, which will be the home of God’s true people
forever. The Bible ends, as it began, with prosperity, but with even greater
prosperity than it began with: not just a garden now, but a garden city - not
just the river of life, and flourishing, fruit-laden trees, but also streets of gold
and gates of pearls. But all these are symbols. The real wealth of heaven, of
course, is the joy of being in the presence of God and those who love and
serve him for ever. The alternative is eternal fire, which is also metaphorical,
but metaphorical of something unspeakably terrible: utter destitution - the loss
of everything good, and the unending pain of knowing what might have been if
only we had chosen and lived differently.
Conclusions
So what can we say about prosperity preaching and the Bible’s wisdom on the
subject? Liker so many distortions of Scripture, the most dangerous and
seductive thing about the prosperity gospel is that it's partly true. We serve a
generous God, who often does reward godliness and hard work with material
prosperity. And wealth does bring opportunities to do good, including helping
the poor and supporting the work of gospel ministry. But it also has a terrible
capacity entice us into worldly patterns of thought and blind us to the truth of
the gospel. I read Brian Houston's book, You Need More Money, from cover
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to cover, and found some things in it true and helpful. Especially his constant
encouragement to those who are wealthy to give generously to the poor, and
to support Christian missions. I applaud this. But he also misuses Scripture at
many points. The worst moment came for me when He quoted 2 Corinthians
8:9 in support of his thesis that it's God's will for us to be wealthy: "You know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor, that you, through his poverty, might become rich." His
comment was this: "I've heard people misinterpret this scripture to support
their belief that it is biblical to be poor. They only read half of it, that "though
he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor." They completely miss the
crucial point because if you read on, the reason why he became poor was that
"you, through his poverty, might become rich." That is what it says. He
became poor so YOU could become rich. The purpose of Jesus coming to
earth included giving up a place of abundance and riches and becoming poor
so that you could escape that poverty." This is followed immediately by a new
section headed, "Get Comfortable about Money." This is a terrible distortion of
Scripture. That it's God's will for me to be wealthy is not only not the "crucial
point" of this verse; it is no part of its meaning at all. Jesus did not give up
everything so that I could escape material poverty and become a wealthy
man, or even a great donor to good causes. He died so that I could have the
unspeakable riches of sins forgiven and all the spiritual blessings Paul lists in
Ephesians chapter 1. He may also bless me with material wealth, but it is
simply wrong to see this as something I have a right to expect because of his
death for me.
The basic problem with prosperity teaching is its lack of a biblical theology to
discipline it. It is constructed, partly from fragments of scripture taken out of
context, and partly from values and ideas sourced from the world, with no
basis in scripture at all. Only the whole Bible can give us the godly wisdom
about prosperity that we need.
Finally, let me say - this issue of prosperity has the capacity to show us the
truth about ourselves in the way that few other topics do. If God was to say to
you tonight, as he did to Solomon, "Ask me for whatever you want, and I will
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give it to you," what would you say? If you said, "Lord, give me financial
prosperity," that would say something about who you are wouldn't it? About
where your treasure is, and what matters most to you? And if you were to say,
Lord, give me wisdom - wisdom to know how to be the man or woman you
have called me to be as a follower of Jesus Christ. That would say something
about you too, wouldn't it?- something very different.
I don't want to pretend this is easy. Life is complex and difficult. And the
situation of each us is different. But I do want to challenge you. Jesus said,
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
I hope your heart is to ring true as follower of Jesus Christ.
And I hope that if God said to you tonight, "Ask me for whatever you want,"
your answer would be, "Lord, give me wisdom." Amen
Resources
Douthat, Ross Gregory, "Pray and Grow Rich." Pages 182-210 in Bad
Religion: how we became a nation of heretics (New York: Free Press,
2012).
Fee, Gordon D., The disease of the health and wealth gospels (Vancouver:
Regent College Pub., 2006).
Houston, Brian, You Need More Money : discovering God's amazing financial
plan for your life (Castle Hill, N.S.W.: Maximised Leadership Incorporated,
1999).
Sider, Ronald J., Rich Christians in an age of hunger : moving from affluence
to generosity (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1997).
Wilkinson, Bruce, The prayer of Jabez : breaking through to the blessed life
(Sisters, Or.: Multnomah , 2000).